


Acceptance

by Theophila



Category: Real Ghostbusters
Genre: Extreme Ghostbusters, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-04-17
Updated: 2010-04-17
Packaged: 2017-10-09 00:14:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/80931
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Theophila/pseuds/Theophila
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Egon, I need to know -- was there ever a chance I might have... he could have turned me... into one of <em>them</em>?" Seeing the Grundel again brought back bad memories for Kylie -- and hearing his voice in her head only seems to fuel her self-doubt. Egon helps her to find what she needs to carry on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Acceptance

**Author's Note:**

> For Spinner Atropos, who has been watching the Extreme Ghostbusters. This came out of a conversation we had on her LJ in which I mentioned I'd have to do a follow-up fic with Kylie and Egon in it.

“_Come out and play, child. Come out and play...”_

 

The Grundel's words echoed through Kylie's brain for the rest of the night. All those years, she had suppressed the memories – nobody had wanted to believe her when she told them of Jack's disappearance, and eventually, Kylie had ceased to believe her own story. Had he just been a figment of her childish imagination? A caricature of something far more sinister?

 

Kylie stared blankly at her assignment for Egon's class. She had only managed a couple of paragraphs in the hours since capturing the Grundel. Why couldn't she focus? Shouldn't she be happy? Jack was back, and after a debriefing with Egon, the boy had been taken home to his parents, with offers of assistance in helping him to adjust, and catch up with the years of missed schoolwork and life. After attempting to hand in her equipment, Egon had stopped Kylie, telling her that he was actually glad the Grundel had been released, as re-trapping the malevolent spirit had freed Jack and Casey. However...

 

Those words echoed in her brain.

 

“_Come out and play, child. Come out and play...”_

 

Something cold seemed to settle in the pit of Kylie's stomach. Egon had told them during the investigation that the Grundel went after willing children, those with a tendency – however hidden – towards wrongdoing. The Grundel himself had attempted to turn Kylie – she had been too strong, the Grundel had admitted, but... the seed of deviancy was there, it seemed, if her experiences as a child were anything to go by. Then the Grundel had chosen Casey... All this time, Roland had seemingly failed to notice Casey's mischievous streak...

 

Casey had repeated the Grundel's words when Egon had questioned him. The boy had very little memory of the incident in the basement – all he remembered was looking at the Grundel, and then Roland finding him with his hand on the power switch. But, he remembered clearly the invite to, “come out and play”, admitting – much to Roland's horror – that the Grundels had told him they would go where “brothers don't exist”.

 

After saving her work, Kylie got up from her chair, deciding upon making some hot chocolate, trying to push her memories – of her childhood, of the investigation, and of the aftermath – from her mind. Maybe something sweet would help her to focus.

 

As she plodded into the kitchen, she wasn't entirely surprised to find the light on and Egon looking in the cupboards for something. Locating a cup, Kylie poured a mug of milk and was about to put it in the microwave when Egon spoke up.

 

“I was just about to make some hot chocolate. I could make a cup for you.”

 

“Thanks, Egon,” Kylie nodded, and passed him her mug of milk. Egon simply returned the nod, and added her mugful of milk to that which was already in the pan, setting aside the mug as the stove sparked to life.

 

Silence fell in the kitchen, Egon carefully watching the pan, and Kylie studying the floor. She still felt slightly awkward around him, having disobeyed his direct orders. Perhaps the Grundel had been right? As that thought seeped into her mind, his voice echoed in her mind once more:

 

“_Come out and play, child. Come out and play.”_

 

“Egon,” Kylie looked up at him. “The Grundel...”

 

Egon looked over his shoulder at her, and then turned from the still warming pan. “Yes, Kylie?”

 

Kylie breathed in and back out slowly before continuing. “You remember what I told you in the debriefing?”

 

“That the Grundel haunted you as a child?”

 

“Right,” Kylie agreed, and then paused. “And the Grundel only goes after willing children, those with a tendency towards wrongdoing, no matter how small, right?”

 

“Right,” Egon replied slowly, his tone seeming to indicate that he knew where this was going. Nonetheless, Kylie felt she needed to get it out of her system, and also get some answers.

 

“The Grundel... he said I was too strong willed for him to turn, but... I guess I still had that tendency,” she paused and looked up at him. “Especially since I disobeyed your direct orders twice.”

 

“Kylie,” Egon raised an eyebrow. “While I might not agree with your conduct, I will admit that your logic was sound.”

 

“Yeah, but Egon... although we caught the creep again, I just can't help thinking about what might have happened if we hadn't.” That thought had been all too prevalent. What if Jack was still a Grundel, what if Casey had been lost forever, what if the Grundel had turned more children, ruined more lives...

 

As Egon turned the simmering milk down slightly and dumped some chocolate powder into the pan, he said, “when I was a child, I was likewise visited by a creature of the night.” His voice was slightly strained, as if he didn't want to remember that. Kylie was surprised – Egon didn't seem like the type to be inclined towards deviancy.

 

“You were also visited by the Grundel?” Kylie asked.

 

“Ah, no,” Egon replied. “No, I was visited by the Boogieman.” Seeing Kylie's raised eyebrows, he continued, “yes, the Boogieman is _real. _He's much like the Grundel in his MO. Willing children are chosen by the Boogieman for the things that frighten them. He then proceeds to feed on their fear, and to a certain extent, their shame of that fear – as parents don't believe their children's stories about the Boogieman.”

 

“Which means they become ashamed of that fear, right?” Kylie questioned. It was something she knew only too well, and had experienced. “Parents tell you it's just your imagination or that you're deliberately making things up.”

 

Egon nodded. “The Grundel, on the other hand, uses social fear. Fear of lack of acceptance. I suspect that's why he chose you, Jack and Casey. You mentioned that, in your childhood, you didn't fit in at school, and neither did Jack. In Casey's case, as his parents were often too busy, and Roland's schedule isn't exactly conducive to childcare, he likewise feels alone. As a result, Casey, Jack and yourself, were easier targets for the Grundel. While you were, as the Grundel pointed out, perhaps too strong willed, he used the loneliness – and accompanying social shame – to manipulate Jack, Casey and others, into carrying out misdemeanors in order to propagate itself.”

 

Turning off the stove, Egon gave the hot chocolate a stir, and then divided it into two mugs, passing one to Kylie, who took it with a murmured thanks. The explanation made sense, and it also explained why Jack stopped when she called his name...

 

“When we were on the bridge, he stopped when I called out to him. Jack, I mean,” she clarified. “He stopped and stared, as if he recognized me.”

 

Egon nodded and then carefully sipped at the hot chocolate in his mug. “Roland noted similar when Casey began the transformation process. The boy still recognized him, and even told Roland that he was afraid.” He looked thoughtfully into his mug. “The last time Ray, Peter, Winston and I investigated the Grundel, the boy who had been under the Grundel's influence recognized and attempted to influence his own brother. It was the love and acceptance of his brother that halted the process of transformation.”

 

Kylie clutched her mug, biting on her lip. “Egon,” she looked up at him. “I need to know: was there ever a chance that I might have... that he could have turned me... into one of _them_?” That was what truly frightened her. The Grundel had said she had been too strong, but... if the seed of wrongdoing was there, then, perhaps over time he might have eroded her will, and...

 

“No, Kylie,” Egon replied. In a rare, affectionate gesture, he gently placed a hand on her shoulder. “While the Grundel attempted to manipulate you mentally and emotionally, he requires acceptance in order to carry out his deeds – he must be invited into one's home, or one's life. Unless my judgment of your character is inaccurate, I sincerely doubt you would ever accept someone who tormented you and took away your best friend.”

 

Kylie nodded slowly, taking this in. The Grundel had tried to make a deal with her, and even now, she had resisted. He had grabbed her, removing her proton pack, but Kylie had nonetheless made an attempt to get it back. When Roland finally caught the creep in a particle stream, Kylie had thrown the trap and opened it. Of course she wouldn't accept the Grundel.

 

Reaching up, she squeezed Egon's hand on her shoulder.

 

“Thanks, Egon.”

 

**END**


End file.
